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REAL ESTATE: Rental complaints mount

Anjelika Sanchez, 20, of Moreno Valley, stands in front of a house for rent on Via Pastoral in Moreno Valley that she paid a deposit on, only to find out it was apparently a "phantom" rental property. A Riverside real estate rental company is amassing a growing number of complaints from potential tenants who claim they've been sold a bill of goods when it comes to rental referrals. The state, when appraised of the number of complaints filed by the BBB about this agency, said its business practices merit investigating.

A Riverside real estate rental company is amassing complaints from clients who claim they are being fleeced of their hard-earned cash through a business model designed to sell phantom rentals.

Southern CAL Services, operating out of a storefront at 1735 Spruce St., has an âFâ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

The company offering prepaid rental listing services lacks a state license and has had 14 formal complaints lodged against it since May 16, 2012, said Kim Burge, vice president of trade practice for the Better Business Bureau.

The ads draw them to the Riverside firm where customers say theyâre prompted to hand over cash or money order deposits of $80 to $400 to run credit checks or hold the property in reserve.

The complaints say customers are being sent to wrong addresses, get their showings cancelled repeatedly and ultimately learn the house they rented is either no longer available, costs more than the advertised price or is controlled by another agency. When they demand a refund, the complaints say, the clients are told to send a note with copies of the contract and the receipt to a post office box in Irvine.

Refunds are either non-existent or very difficult to obtain, Burge said.

Eight complaints have been sent to the Better Business Bureau since October; and one consumer was so irate she was arrested for walking into the agency wielding a tire iron.

This week, a state official described the business practices as activities that warrant an investigation.

âOver the last six months this kind of activity has been popping up statewide,â said Tom Pool, of the California Department of Real Estate. âWeâre seeing it emerge in tight rental markets, where thereâs been high unemployment and a lot of foreclosure activity.â

State law requires companies that deal with rental listings to give refunds if they collect money and a consumer canât find the property based on the list theyâre given, Pool said.

Alex Lopez, a manager of Southern CAL Services, said Friday that he couldnât discuss individual cases and wasnât aware that any complaints had been filed.

If a customer has a complaint, he said, itâs most likely because the customer failed to understand the contract theyâve signed or the type of services the firm offers, he said.

Lopez also said his company doesnât need a state license because it isnât doing real estate transactions.

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